October 29, 2013

'Paleo' Pumpkin Caramels

Ah Halloween. The season of sugar. My nemesis. I'm always in search of healthier desserts so I can indulge my sweet tooth without feeding my sugar addiction too much, especially at this time of year. And I wanted to make a healthier version of these salted pumpkin caramels, featured in my last video recipe.

As you can see in that video, those caramels do require a small mountain of sugar. They're amazing, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to come up with a naturally sweetened, healthier version. And I had a hunch some of you out there might dig it.

So I played around a little and came up with this recipe which is pretty darn delicious and totally simple. It's essentially made with only 3 ingredients: pumpkin, honey, and coconut oil. Mmmm. Happy Halloween!

'PALEO' PUMPKIN CARAMELS
1 cup pumpkin purée1/3 cup honey1/2 cup coconut oilOptional but recommended: 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) half of one vanilla bean, 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, dash of good quality saltIn a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, simmer the pumpkin purée, honey, spices, and scraped vanilla bean seeds on medium-low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes or until very thick (about the consistency of mashed potatoes). Be sure to stir the mixture frequently as it cooks, particularly once it thickens as it can stick to the bottom of the pot. Once it has thickened considerably, remove from heat and add the coconut oil. Mix together until the coconut oil melts. Blend with a hand blender (or whisk vigorously by hand) until smooth and thick. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with oiled parchment paper (leaving an overhang on either side for easy removal) and spoon or pour the hot pumpkin mixture into the pan. Smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds until the top is evenly covered. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Remove the solid rectangle from the pan by pulling the edges of the parchment paper, and invert it onto a cutting board, pumpkin seeds facing down. Slice into squares. (If you have trouble slicing them cleanly, place in the freezer for an additional 15 minutes before slicing). If you wish, sprinkle a little salt on top of the caramels. Store in the fridge until ready to eat.(A final note: the pumpkin can be replaced by winter squash such as buttercup, butternut, or delicata. The drier the flesh of the squash or pumpkin, the less time you'll have to cook it with the honey to get it to the right consistency - I find cutting any squash or pumpkin in half and baking it cut-side down on the pan until soft, then letting it cool cut-side side up yields the best results and a nice firm squash or pumpkin purée)

Hi Diane, new research and studies show that coconut oil is one of the most healthy fats around, you can read this article http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/surprising-health-benefits-coconut-oil and this one to find out more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/09/13/coconut-oil-part-three.aspx - but if you're still keen on avoiding it, you could sub ground nuts - almonds or pecans (about 3/4 cup) and butter (1/4 cup) - mix it all up with the hand blender. I made a version like this but the caramels didn't set as nicely as the ones with coconut oil (partly because coconut oil hardens really well in the fridge). Still delicious though! Let me know how they turn out :-)

I live in W. Africa, would love to try these but would have to substitute for pumpkin, oil...honey is real here (no where like the store garbage with corn syrup in it) and I cannot find coconut oil though willing to experiment with a mix of butter and palm...coconut oil ONLY has a bad rap because companies who sell nasty oils like canola, soy and corn pay the govt. to say so...

I think you could sub any kind of squash or sweet potato, maybe even cassava... palm oil should work, especially if it hardens in cold temperature. These caramels really need a fat that hardens in the cold to keep them firm and sliceable. Let me know how it goes, all the way from W. Africa, so cool! :-)